Safety device for ship

ABSTRACT

A ship safety device comprising normally-folded inflatable gas bags secured to broadsides of a ship, which gas bags are connected to a pressure-gas source through a valve for selective inflation in emergency. Each gas bag has a flange, which is secured to the ship broadside by fixtures, and two folding portions extending in the longitudinal direction of the ship for facilitating the folding thereof in an easily inflatable and deflatable fashion.

United States Patent 1191 Morita et al. July 9, 1974 [54] SAFETY DEVICEFOR SHIP 1,375,055 4/1921 Lodato 114/68 [75] Inventors Katsuo Hokkmdo;Sada) 2x925 7. 114/123 Hashimoto, Hokkaido; Hiroshi Miyamoto, Yokohama,all of Japan [73] Assignees: Bridgestone Tire Company Limited, PrimaryExaminerTrygve M. Blix Chuo-ku, TokyojHakodatc Seimo AssistantExaminer-Charles E. Frankfort Sengu Kabushiki Kaisha, Hokkaido,Attorney, Agent, or FirmFleit, Gipple & Jacobson both of, Japan [22]Filed: Oct. 12, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 296,750 57 ABSTRACT [30] ForeignApplication Priority Data A ship safety device comprisingnormally-folded in- .luly24, 1972 Japan 47-87034 flatable gas bagsSecured to broadsidos of a p, July 24, 1972 Japan 47-7-3933 which gasbags are connected to a Pressure-gas Source through a valve forselective inflation in emergency. [52] US. Cl. 114/123 Each g g has a gwhich i cured to the ship [51] Int. Cl B63b 43/14 broadside y fi and t ofolding portions extend- [58] Field f S arch 114/ 123, 68, 49; 9/2 A ingin the longitudinal direction of the ship for facilitating the foldingthereof in an easily inflatable and [56] References Cited I deflatablefashion. UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,319,424 10/1919 Schneider 114/68 9Claims, 10 Drawing Figures 8 ll 9c PATENTEDJUL 9 w 3.822.662

PATENTED JUL 91914 SHEET I]? 5 PATENTEU 91974 SHEET 5 0F 5 FIG... IO

FIG. 9

SAFETY DEVICE FOR SHIP BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of theInvention This invention relates to a safety device for ship, and

comparatively small ships are reported every year.

It has been known that ships can be made more resistive to upset byproviding inflatable gas bags which are normally folded at broadsidesthereof and inflated in case of emergency by forcing a pressure-gastherein for giving additional buoyancy to the ships. The inventors ofthe present invention have found that conventional gas bags for suchpurpose have the following shortcommg.

Belts or bands have been used for securing the safety gas bag to theship being protected. The use of such belts or bands tends to causebreakage of the gas bags or separation of the gas bags from the ship inthe rough sea. Thus, installations with the fastening belts or bands donot provide reliable operation of the safety gas bags. With conventionalsafety gas bags, when they are not in use, they are merely foldedwithout paying reasonable attention to their resistance to cruising andwithout fully considering the ease of inflation. Furthermore, theconventional safety gas bags are designed for manual operation; namely,the gas bags are manually unfolded in the case of emergency, and theyare manually folded after the emergency condition is over. Such manualoperation is not only inefficient, but also quite dangerous. If the gasbags are secured to outer broadside surfaces of the ship, crewmen haveto stretch themselves from the deck for manually folding and unfoldingthe gas bags while the ship is cruising or moving in the rough sea.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to obviate theaforesaid shortcoming of the conventional ship safety device using gasbags.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there isprovided a ship safety device having one or more inflatable gas bagssecured to broadside of a ship, characterized in that a flange is formedalong the periphery of a mounting portion of each gas bag which mountingportion is to be held in contact with the ship broadside, and each gasbag is secured to the ship by fastening the flange to the ship broadsideby fixtures. Two folding portions are formed on the wall of the gas bagin parallel with the cruising direction of the ship, so that the gas bagmay be folded along such folding portions during the normal cruising ofthe ship. The folding portions may be formed in such a manner that theupper portion of the gas bag extending from the upper one of the twofolding portions is folded inside while covering the entire folded bagwith the lower portion of the gas bag, which lower portion extends fromthe lower one of the two folding portions to lower edge of the flange ofthe gas bag. To facilitate the folding and unfolding of the gas bag, aplurality of ropes may be secured to the gas bag at one ends thereof,while connecting the opposite ends of the ropes to a winch drum on boardthe ship and extending the intermediate portions of the ropes through aguide means of the ship.

With the aforesaid structure of the ship safety device according to thepresent invention, the following advantages can be achieved. Firstly,mechanical load to the gas bag is spread throughout the flange, so thatthe load to the bag is borne by the entire flange without causing anylocal concentration of the load. Whereby, the risk of the breakage ofthe gas bag and the separation of the gas bag from the ship isminimized, and highly stable performance of the safety gas bag isensured. Secondly, resistance of the gas bags to normal cruising isminimized by preventing the folded edge portionsof the gas bags fromcoming into continuous contact with sea water. More particularly, onlytwo folding portions are formed, of which one is disposed within afolded wall of the gas bag while keeping the other folding portion at aposition above the ships draft for preventing the folding portions frominterfering with the cruising. Whereby, the walls of the gas bags arenormally kept substantially flat, and the gas bag walls are protectedfrom sea water attack for ensuring a long service life and reliableoperation under emergency condition. Thirdly, the inflation anddeflation, or unfolding and folding, of the safety gas bags are greatlysimplified while ensuring its reliable operation in case of emergency,so that the gas bag of the present invention can be folded and unfoldedmore quickly than those of conventional construction. Furthermore, withthe structure of the present invention, the safety of the crewmen forhandling the gas bag is considerably improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING For a better understanding of theinvention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a ship having a safety deviceaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the ship of FIG. 1,showing the details of the ship safety device;

FIG. 3 is a partially cut away perspective view, showing the inflatedcondition of a gas bag in the safety device of the invention;

F IGS. 4 and 5 are partial sectional views, showing different manners inwhich the gas bag of the invention is secured to the ship;

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view showing a modified flange of thegas bag of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a side view of a ship, illustrating a different embodiment ofthe safety device according to the present invention;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view of the safety device of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 8, showing a cover which canbe used in the safety device of the invention for protecting a foldedgas bag; and

FIG. 10 is a sectional view, illustrating the wall structure of a gasbag which can be used in the safety device of the present invention.

Like parts are designated by like numerals throughout the differentfigures of the drawing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, twogas bags 1 made of suitable elastomeric material, e.g., rubber, aresecured to broadsides 2 of a ship. The wall of the gas bag I may bereinforced by embedding a reinforcing layer ld which is, for instance, acanvas layer. The wall of the gas bag I, however, must be flexibleenough to allow inflation and deflation thereof by filling or removing asuitable gas therein or therefrom.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a comparatively thick and flat mountingportion la is formed in the gas bag wall so as to ensure reliableconnection of the bag I to the ship by permanently keeping the mountingportion 1a in contact with the surface of the ship broadside 2. A flange1b is formed along the periphery of the mounting portion la of each gasbag 1. The flange lb is preferably strengthened by disposing areinforcing member 3 therein. In the case of the embodiment of FIG. 4,the reinforcing member 3 is a bead wire, while FIG. 5 shows areinforcing member 3 made ofa flat hard plate member, such as an iron orsteel plate.

A plurality of Lshaped fastening fixtures 4 may be bolted to thebroadside 2 of the ship by bolts 5 for securing the flange lb of the gasbag 1, as shown in FIG. 4. Thereby, the gas bag I itself is firmlyconnected to the ship. In the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, fasteningfixtures 4 are made of flat plates each having a bolt hole 4a, and thereinforcing plate member 3 of the flange lb of the gas bag 1 has boltholes 3a corresponding to the holes 4a of the fixtures. Thus, the gasbag 1 can be firmly secured to the ship broadside 2 by tightening bolts5, while inserting the flange 1b of the gas bag 1 between the fixtureplates 4 and the ship broadside 2.

The flange lb of the gas bag 1 is shown as a closed loop in FIG. I, butthe invention is not restricted to such form of the flange. Forinstance, the flange lb may be cut off at certain intervals, as shown inFIG. 6. Reinforcing members 3 are, of course, provided only in theremaining portions of the flange 1b in the case of the cut away flangeof FIG. 6.

In FIG. 3, a holding lug lc is integrally secured to the outer surfaceof the gas bag I in such a manner that, when the gas bag 1 is folded asdescribed hereinafter, the holding lug I is pulled upwards by ropes.Whereby, the bag 1 is normally held folded, as shown in FIG. 2.

The gas bag 1 is connected to a pressure-gas source 6, such as a gasbomb, through a conduit 7a having a valve means 7. The pressure-gassource 6 is carried on board the ship. The valve means 7 is preferably athreeway valve. When the gas bag 1 is folded, the three-way valve 7connects the gas bag I to the atmosphere, as shown in FIG. 2. When it isnecessary to quickly inflate the gas bag I, for instance, underemergency condition, the three-way valve 7 is so turned as tocommunicate the pressure-gas source 6 with the gas bag I, so that anadditional buoyancy is provided to the ship. When the need for theadditional buoyancy is removed, the threeway valve 7 is so turned as tore-communicate the gas bag I with the atmosphere. As the gas bag I isfolded in a manner to be described hereinafter, the gas is removed fromthe bag I to the atmosphere, and the gas bag I is deflated.

It is an important feature of the present invention that the gas bag 1can be selectively inflated and deflated by forcing a gas into it orremoving the gas from it. In the foregoing, the valve means 7 forcontrolling the aforesaid filling and removing of the gas relative tothe gas bag 1 is described as a three-way valve. The invention, however,is not restricted to such three-way valve. In fact, any other valvemeans which can satisfactorily fulfills the aforesaid functions of thethree-way valve can be used in the safety device of the invention.

Two longitudinal folding portions 1e and 1f are formed on the wall ofthe gas bag I in parallel to the cruising direction of the ship.Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, during normal cruising, the gas bag 1 isfolded in such a manner that an upper portion 111 of the bag 1,extending upwardly from the upper folding portion 1 f, is kept inside ofthe folded wall of the bag 1, while a lower portion lg of the bag 1,extending downwards from the lower folding portion 1e, is placed at theoutermost surface of the folded bag. Thus, the upper folding portion 1 fis held at the lower part of the folded bag, while the lower foldingportion 1e is held at the uppermost part thereof. As a result, theentire gas bag I is deflated and folded in a flat form along thebroadside 2 of the ship.

FIGS. 1 and 2 also illustrate a folding means, which acts to deflate thegas bag 1 and to fold it in the aforesaid flat form. The folding meansincludes a plurality of ropes 8 having one ends connected to the holdinglug 1c of each gas bag 1. The ropes 8 extend through a rope-guideassembly 9, and the opposite ends of the ropes 8 are secured to a drumll of a winch 10. The rope-guide assembly 9 consists of a fender 9a withholes through which the ropes 8 extend, eyebolts 912 secured to the shipbroadside 2 and having holes by which the ropes 8 are guided, and acollector 9c acting to collect all the ropes 8 at the winch 10. Theeyebolts 9b may be replaced with suitable pulleys rotatably secured tothe ship broadside 2. The fenders 9a are secured to the ship broadside 2above the gas bag 1 but below the eyebolts 9b, so as to extend inparallel with the cruising direction of the ship. To protect the shipand to ensure smooth folding of the bag 1, bushes 9d made of suitablehard material may be secured to the fender 9a at those parts where theropes 8 pass through. The Collector is a block made of metal or otherhard material and has suitably spaced holes for passing the ropes 8therethrough. The collector 9c is located in frontof the winch 10 forthe purpose of collecting ropes from the entire span of the fender 9a tothe limited width of the drum ll of the winch 10 The structure of therope-guide assembly 9 is not restricted to the one as shown in FIGS. 1and 2, but any rope-guide assembly which can ensure smooth winding andunwinding of the plurality of the ropes 8 having one ends secured to thegas bag 1 can be used in the safety device of the present invention.

The drum ll of the winch 10 is rotatably mounted on a pair of brackets13 whichare secured to a pedestal 12. A plurality of division plates 11aare secured to the drum 11 for providing proper spacings between theadjacent ropes 8. One end of the drum 11 is connected to a handle 14 forturning it and a ratchet gearing 15 for preventing reverse rotation ofthe drum. The ratchet gearing I5 includes a ratchet wheel 15a which iscoaxially secured to the drum I1 and a claw 15b pivotally secured to oneof the brackets 13 so as to selectively engage teeth of said ratchetwheel 150. For deflating and folding the gas bag 1 from its inflatedcondition, the drum 1] is turned by the handle 14 in a direction fortaking up the ropes 8, until the bag 1 is folded as shown by solid linesof FIG. 2. In this case, the valve means 7 assumes such an operatingposition that the gas can be removed from the bag 1 to the atmosphere.On the other hand, in order to inflate the gas bag 1, the claw b isdisengaged from the teeth of the ratchet wheel 15a of the ratchetmechanism 15 for allowing the drum 11 to freely rotate, and the valvemeans 7 is turned to the position where the pressure-gas source 6communicates with the gas bag 1. Whereby, the pressure-gas from thesource 6 forces the bag 1 to inflate by filling therein, and as the bag1 inflates, the ropes 8 are released from the drum ll of the winch 10,until the bag 1 assumes the inflated position as shown by the dashdotlines of FIG. 2.

The ratchet mechanism 15 and the handle 14 may be replaced with othersuitable equipments in the present invention. For instance, the ratchetmechanism 15 can be replaced with a suitable clutch means, and thehandle 14 can be replaced with a suitable motor-driven winding means.What is important is to selectively wind and unwind the ropes 8 havingone ends secured to the gas bag 1.

F IGS. 7 to 9 illustrate different mechanisms for keeping a gas bag 1folded on ship broadside 2. Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, a plurality ofeye pieces 16 are secured to the gas bag 1 along its lower foldingportion 1e. A plurality of hooks 17 are secured to the ship broadside 2so as to cooperate with the eye pieces 16 of the bag 1. Moreparticularly, when the gas bag 1 is folded, a rope 18 is extendedbetween the eye pieces 16 and the hooks 17 in zigzag fashion whilefastening the opposite ends of the rope 18 to the eye pieces 16 or thehooks 17, so as to keep the bag 1 folded as shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 illustrates a modification of the structure of FIG. 8, by using acover 19 for holding each gas bag 1 folded. The cover 19 is made of asuitable hard material, such as fiber reinforced plastics (FRP), and itis large enough to cover the entire folded gas bag 1. As seen in FIG. 9,lower edge of the cover 19 is secured to the ship broadside 2 byfastening fixtures 4, which also secure the bag 1 to the broadside 2. Aplurality of hooks 20 are secured to upper outer portion of the cover19. A rope 18 may be extended between the hooks 20 of the cover 19 andcooperating hooks 17 secured to the ship broadside 2, in zigzag fashion,while fastening the opposite ends of the rope 18 to the hooks 17 or 20,for keeping the cover 19 at a position for holding the gas bag 1 folded,as shown in FIG. 9.

To inflate the gas bag 1 of FIGS. 7 and 8 or FIG. 9, under emergencycondition, the rope 18 is released by suitable means, e.g., by cuttingit, and a valve means 7 of FIGS. 7 or 8 is so actuated as to communicatea pressure-gas source 6 with the gas bag 1. Whereby, the gas bag 1 isinflated to provide the ship with an additional buoyancy for stabilizingthe ship under the emergency condition.

When the gas bag 1 is made of rubber sheet, the folding portions 1e and1f may be vulcanized in a shape as folded or nearly folded, so as tofacilitate the aforesaid folding of the finished bag 1 after theinflation by the ropes 8 or rope 18. It is also possible to reduce therigidity of the gas bag lat the folding portions 1e and 1f by using thinwalls at such portions, as shown in FIG. 10. The use of thecomparatively more flexible folding portions 1e and 1f of FIG. 10facilitates the inflation and deflation of the gas bag 1.

The lower portion 1g of the gas bag 1, which is normally exposed to seawater and outside atmosphere while covering the remainder of the foldedbag 1, can be made of a thick wall or can be formed of FRP or otherreinforced material, for the purpose of improving the service life ofthe gas bag 1.

We claim:

1. A ship safety device, comprising at least one normally-foldedinflatable gas bag secured to broadside of a ship, a pressure-gas sourceinstalled on board the ship, and a valved conduit communicating thepressure-gas source to the bag for selective inflation of the bag incase of emergency, said gas bag having a flat mounting portion to bekept in contact with the broadside of the ship and a flange formed alongthe periphery of the mounting portion, said flange having at least onereinforcing member embedded therein and being fastened to the broadsideof the ship by fixtures, said fixtures forming long fixture contactsurfaces extending along the flange so as to urge the flangecontinuously toward the ship broadside.

2. A ship safety device according to claim 1 and further comprisinghooks secured to broadside of the ship, eye pieces secured to the gasbag, and a rope extending between the hooks and the eye pieces in zigzagfashion when the gas bag is deflated and folded so as to hold the gasbag folded.

3. A ship safety device according to claim 1 and further comprising acover member having lower edge integrally secured to lower edge of saidflange, hooks secured to broadside of the ship, eye pieces secured tosaid cover member, and a rope extending between the hooks and the eyepieces in zigzag fashion when the gas bag is deflated and folded so asto hold the gas bag folded by covering the folded gas bag.

4. A ship safety device according to claim 1, wherein said gas bag isformed by an elastomer bag wall and has two permanent folding veinsextending in the bag wall in a direction parallel to the cruisingdirection of the ship, said two veins defining three gas bag wallsections including one wall section between the two veins, one wallsection above, and another wall section below the inter-vein wallsection, said three wall sections forming a unitary gas bag uponinflation, while said three wall sections being automatically folded oneon the other along the ship broadside upon removal of internal pressurefrom the gas bag. I

5. A ship safety device according to claim 1, wherein said gas bag hastwo folding portions extending in parallel to the cruising direction ofthe ship, and the gas bag is foldable upon deflation in such a mannerthat upper portion of the gas bag which extends upwardly from the upperone of said folding portions is held adjacent the flat mounting portion,while covering the entire folded gas bag with lower portion of the gasbag, said lower portion extending between the lower one of said foldingportions and lower edge of said flat mounting portion.

6. A ship safety device according to claim 5 and further comprising aplurality of ropes, each having one end connected to said gas bag, awinch mounted on board the ship and having opposite ends of the ropesconnected thereto, and a rope guide means mounted for deflation thereof.

8. A ship safety device according to claim 7 and further comprising aholding lug integrally secured to said gas bag, said ropes beingconnected to said holding lug.

9. A ship safety device according to claim 5, wherein said foldingportions of said gas bag have thinner walls than the remaining portionsof the gas bag.

1. A ship safety device, comprising at least one normally-foldedinflatable gas bag secured to broadside of a ship, a pressure-gas sourceinstalled on board the ship, and a valved conduit communicating thepressure-gas source to the bag for selective inflation of the bag incase of emergency, said gas bag having a flat mounting portion to bekept in contact with the broadside of the ship and a flange formed alongthe periphery of the mounting portion, said flange having at least onereinforcing member embedded therein and being fastened to the broadsideof the ship by fixtures, said fixtures forming long fixture contactsurfaces extending along the flange so as to urge the flangecontinuously toward the ship broadside.
 2. A ship safety deviceaccording to claim 1 and further comprising hooks secured to broadsideof the ship, eye pieces secured to the gas bag, and a rope extendingbetween the hooks and the eye pieces in zigzag fashion when the gas bagis deflated and folded so as to hold the gas bag folded.
 3. A shipsafety device according to claim 1 and further comprising a cover memberhaving lower edge integrally secured to lower edge of said flAnge, hookssecured to broadside of the ship, eye pieces secured to said covermember, and a rope extending between the hooks and the eye pieces inzigzag fashion when the gas bag is deflated and folded so as to hold thegas bag folded by covering the folded gas bag.
 4. A ship safety deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein said gas bag is formed by an elastomer bagwall and has two permanent folding veins extending in the bag wall in adirection parallel to the cruising direction of the ship, said two veinsdefining three gas bag wall sections including one wall section betweenthe two veins, one wall section above, and another wall section belowthe inter-vein wall section, said three wall sections forming a unitarygas bag upon inflation, while said three wall sections beingautomatically folded one on the other along the ship broadside uponremoval of internal pressure from the gas bag.
 5. A ship safety deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein said gas bag has two folding portionsextending in parallel to the cruising direction of the ship, and the gasbag is foldable upon deflation in such a manner that upper portion ofthe gas bag which extends upwardly from the upper one of said foldingportions is held adjacent the flat mounting portion, while covering theentire folded gas bag with lower portion of the gas bag, said lowerportion extending between the lower one of said folding portions andlower edge of said flat mounting portion.
 6. A ship safety deviceaccording to claim 5 and further comprising a plurality of ropes, eachhaving one end connected to said gas bag, a winch mounted on board theship and having opposite ends of the ropes connected thereto, and a ropeguide means mounted on board the ship between the gas bag and the winchso as to guide movement of intermediate portions of said ropes, saidwinch selectively taking up said ropes for folding the gas bag alongsaid folding portions and selectively releasing said ropes for allowingsaid gas bag to inflate.
 7. A ship safety device according to claim 6,wherein said valved conduit includes a three-way valve selectivelycommunicating said gas bag either to said pressure-gas source forinflation thereof, or to atmosphere for deflation thereof.
 8. A shipsafety device according to claim 7 and further comprising a holding lugintegrally secured to said gas bag, said ropes being connected to saidholding lug.
 9. A ship safety device according to claim 5, wherein saidfolding portions of said gas bag have thinner walls than the remainingportions of the gas bag.